TTM-FP Drabbles
by DreamStar37
Summary: Drabbles and short stories for To The Moon/Finding Paradise, stuff that's too short for its own thing.
1. Swivel

The office was exactly the same as it was everyday, and Neil hated it. Nothing ever changed around here, same old boring office. The fluorescent lights hurt his eyes, a weird sound was coming from Eva's office, it smelled vaguely like coffee... wait, what?

Neil backtracked, staring at the door to his partner's office. The last time he'd peeked into her office, catching a glimpse of her sleeping on the job, he'd been chased halfway across the building by a paper-weilding Eva. Getting hit repeatedly by a stack of papers had really hurt...

Holding his breath, he slowly opened the door.

There she was, sitting in her chair like normal. Suddenly, Eva kicked out her feet, rolling backwards a good distance before spinning. Her laughter was infectious, and Neil held a hand over his mouth to stifle the unwanted sound.

She was still spinning pretty fast, long hair cascading out behind her. When she finally stopped spinning, her hair whipped around to smack her in the face. Before he could stop himself, a snorted laugh escaped.

With how fast Eva turned to face him, he was surprised she hadn't snapped her neck.

"NEIL?!" he heard her scream as he bolted back out into the hall. Locking his own office door behind him, he leaned backwards breathing heavily. His face felt hot... that was a close one.

The next time Neil saw Eva, it was with an embarressed face full of paper. He really needed to stop doing this, before she actually break his glasses.


	2. Remember Me

Eva was lost. It was only her first week into highschool, and she'd somehow already managed to get completely turned around. This area of the school looked abandoned, the lights were all out and loose papers littered the hall. Clutching her backpack straps in aprehention, she continued down the hall.

She only stopped when the hallway forked, straight ahead or a turn left, both ways looked the same... Oh man, she was so going to be late to math class. Just then, her ears picked up a faint sound coming from the left hall. It was a better lead than anything, she guessed.

Following the sound led her to a slightly ajar classroom door, a gentle strumming emitted. As quiet as she could, Eva pushed the door open. The classroom was empty, save for a single boy slouched on the floor, facing away from her. What looked like an old, faded acoustic guitar was cradled in his arms. His movements were unsure and choppy, despite his struggle the tune was at least coherent. Before she could think of what to do next, he began singing.

 _"Remember me,_

 _Though I have to say goodbye..._

 _Remember me,_

 _Don't let it make you cry..._

 _For even if I'm far away_

 _I hold you in my heart,_

 _I sing a secret song to you_

 _Each night we are apart..._

 _Remember me,_

 _Though I have to travel far_

 _Remember me,_

 _Each time you hear a sad guitar_

 _Know that I'm with you_

 _The only way that I can be..._

 _Until you're in my arms again..._

 _Remember... me"_

Though he'd started off softly, by the end he was in tears, having choked up several times. Eva felt her heart twinge in regret, she's infringed on something deeply personal, and she didn't even know this kid. Taking a slow step back, Eva attempted to leave the room before he noticed her. Key word being attempted. Her leg knocked straight into a trashcan, causing her to stumble and fall right on in. The boy flinched violently at the sudden noise, turning and locking eyes.

For several moments they simply gaped at each other; him clutching the guitar to his chest protectively, and her halfway submerged in a previously human free trash can. For the first time, Eva got a good look at him. His face was gaunt, like he wasn't getting enough sleep, messy brown hair that looked like it had never met a brush in it's life. Reflective glasses shielded his eyes, she could see a tiny version of herself mirrored in them.

Eva felt her face flush bright red, realizing the exact predicament she was in. Scrambling out of the garbage, she darted out the door with a quick "I'M SORRY!" shouted over her shoulder. Leaving behind a very confused and flustered boy.

Eva ran down the hall, afraid to look behind incase he had decided to yell at her. She never did make it to math class.

.

.

.

Eva watched the scene before her in silence, their latest patient attempting to woo her dreamgirl with an acoustic guitar. Neil shifted beside her, his movements had been still for a long time, letting her know he was in deep thought.

"...Do you remember when we first met?" He began, voice low and even, the tone he reserved for the sharing of past times. She glanced at him for a moment, before looking back at the memory.

"Our first proper meeting?" She hoped he didn't mean-

"No, before that" Cucumbers.

"...You mean the time I dunked myself in the trash?" she sighed, watching him throw her a pity smile, then back to neutral.

They lasped back into silence, Eva knew not to pry, he would tell her when he was ready.

"My grandpa used to sing that song with me... that day you found me, that was the first time anyone else had heard me sing" Oh. He was completely still, staring ahead yet not at the memory. Slowly, Eva took his hand in hers, startling him out of his thoughts.

"...Thank you for telling me, Neil" she smiled at him, a genuine one.

Without a word, his fingers wrapped around hers.


	3. Weeds and Flowers

Neil Watts did not like gardening, not one bit. Being outside in the sun was just horrible, hot and sweaty, and it made people smell disgusting. No no, Neil much preferred staying inside with his technology, away from all bugs and sunshine.

And yet here he was, knee-deep in topsoil, sweating under the blistering sun and working his butt off. All because Eva had called him to complain that her garden was being overrun by weeds. Normally he would have brushed it off, but she sounded so distraught, and he knew how important her garden was to her...

"Just pull the little weeds that look like grass, here, like this-" Eva demonstrated, pinching one of the nuisance plants near the base and twisting it up out of the dirt, roots and all. She tosses it into a nearby bucket, before turning and working on the other side of the decently sized garden. Well, at least this didn't look too difficult... She's even loaned him a sunhat and gardening gloves, nothing else, at least he'd had the foresight to grab a pair of old jeans instead of his good pants. He was so gonna be covered in dirt and grime by the end of the day.

Neil grabs one of the weeds near him, quickly pulling it up. Only for the danged thing to snap at the base, leaving the root system still buried in the soil. He begrudgingly digs the roots out, tossing them both into the bucket. Ugh, how did Eva make this look so easy? All the freaking weeds keep breaking no matter how hard he tries, not that he'd ever let Eva know, though. Had an image to upkeep, after all.

...Just sitting here in silence with nothing but plants and sunshine was boooring though, glancing over at Eva, an idea dawns on him. Being careful not to laugh, he gently tosses all the pulled weeds over, letting them land on the rim of Eva's sunhat. Soon he's amassed a tall pile of the tricky plants, and Eva was none the wiser.

Hey, he was getting pretty good at this. Suddenly, Eva turns to him, about to say something. She's interrupted by a shower of weeds, falling out of her hat into her lap and all around the general vicinity in a circle. She's shocked for a moment, mouth hanging open with whatever words she was about to say lost in the chaos. He bursts out laughing, clutching his stomach as Eva narrows her eyes at him.

Without warning, she grabs a fistful of weeds and chucks them at Neil, causing him to fall backwards onto his back in the dirt, still laughing.

"Okay, just for that, you can go pick weeds in the tomato patch!" Eva huffed, pointing over at the towering tomato plants near the back of the garden. He slinks away, still chuckling slightly, but only after she makes him gather up all weeds he'd tossed at her.

This wasn't so bad, at least under all these leaves Neil was now shaded from the sun. He was starting to get better at not breaking the small plants, too. Once he got a big enough pile, Neil scooped them all up and turned around to toss them into the bucket. While he's doing that, he straightens up to stretch, his head getting brushed gently by the tomato leaves. Oof, crouching over like this was really hurting his back, how did Eva survive-

With a yelp, Neil jumps away from the tall plants, rubbing the back of his stinging neck.

"EVA, SOMETHING BIT ME!" Neil cries, eyeing the tomatoes suspiciously.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention; the ladybug larvae like the tomatoes, just try not to bug them." Eva calls from across the garden, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT IS, IT HAS NO RIGHT TO ATTACK ME LIKE THIS!" Neil shouts back in reply. Dangit, that really hurt, son of a b*^$%! How can something so small cause so much pain?!

"Are you dying?" Eva turns slightly towards him, pausing in her work as she looks him over.

"YES!" Neil whines, pouting slightly. The pain had subsided by now, but Neil felt like playing it up a bit.

"What a shame, I'll attend your funeral." She says in a monotone voice, turning away again to continue pulling weeds. Neil raises a hand to his chest in mock offence.

"Ouch, that's harsh, Ms. Rosalene." Neil huffs, slouching his shoulders in defeat. Utter failure, typical. "Can I at least snack on these cherry tomatoes while I work?" He eyes the bright red totally-a-vegetable delicacies.

"If you're willing to fight the bugs, be my guest... Oh, and toss me a few too, will you?" Permission granted, Neil edges forward under the plant canopy for a second time. It's easy to spot the ripe tomatoes against the green leaves, and Neil picks as many as he can carry. Divvying the fruits of his labor in half, he eats a few and crawls back out from the plants. Without thinking, Neil just throws half of the tomatoes over at Eva, only realizing his error when she yells in surprise.

"Whoops-" THWAP! Neil falls backwards onto his butt, felled by a single well aimed cherry tomato to the forehead.

"These are FRUITS, Neil, NOT AMMUNITION!" Eva huffs, grabbing her portion of tomatoes off the ground and dusting them off. Neil had a feeling this was going to be a long day.

...

An hour later, all the weeds are gone. Eva went inside and grabbed some ice cold lemonade, before the both of them laid down on the grass to relax. After a long day of work, it was the perfect refreshment for the two doctors. Despite the fact he was covered in dirt and sweat, Neil was happy. Eva was too, her overalls covered in grass stains and more dirt than the garden at this point.

It was nice, laying here in the sun. It was actually making him feel pretty sleepy, his eyes dropping slightly. Looking over, Neil's heart nearly skips a beat. The sun was making Eva's skin practically glow with a golden light, her hair cascaded across the grass and eyes closed with a gentle expression. On the bright side, he was so sweaty it hid how much he was blushing.

Around them was a sea of wild flowers, swaying slightly in the breeze. That gave him an idea... Sitting up slowly so as to not make any noise, Neil sets to work. Weaving as many flowers together as he could, Neil makes as intricate a flower crown as he can, despite his rusty abilities. Blues and whites and purples, all soft petals and pastel colors. Finally satisfied with his handiwork, Neil gently places it on Eva's head.

She startles slightly, blinking up at him with confusion. "Oh-" Eva raises a hand to the flower crown, sitting up slowly. Neil grins at her, already weaving more flowers together. She watches him work for a long moment in silence, before attempting to make her own flower crown.

It falls apart in her hands, and Eva frowns in disappointment. Neil happily shows her how to make a proper flower crown, memories of his own failed creations when he was a kid playing through his mind. Soon, they have a whole assemble of crowns made, both of them wearing several piled up on their heads.

Being outside still sucks, Neil thinks to himself. But maybe it wasn't so bad, if Eva was there with him.


	4. Breathe Easy

Every once in a while, all the employees at Sigcorp would go out on a trip. Usually something small, they never knew when they would be called away on a mission. There was a lot of planning involved, checking schedules and paperwork just for one day away from the office. But they'd been working extra hard lately, and so were allowed some off time.

Today, they decided to go to the beach. Even a few hours out of the office and in the sun was cause for celebration, so all the doctors were carpooling down together. They were all crammed into two of the company cars with as many beach supplies as they could carry.

They find a place to park within view of the beach, and start walking. The second they hit sand, Roxie and Eddie take off into the crowd.

"WAAATEEEEEER!" Roxie screams, running full speed across the sand towards the water, a giant inflatable donut in hand.

"Roxie, please be careful-" Robert tries to caution, just as Roxie trips and lands face first in an explosion of sand, losing grip of her inner tube as it flies forward and lands a few feet away. The entire group watches as she gets back up and starts running again, finally leaping into the water with a splash. "IT'S COLD!" She cries, hopping back out and catching her breath.

Eva sighs, quickly finding an empty area and setting out her towel on the sand. She didn't really go swimming much, it was fun and all but she had work to do. A few days earlier, Roxie had dragged Eva to the store to go swimsuit shopping with her. 'It's the beach, Eva, you gotta swim!' as she'd said. And so Eva bought a plain blue single piece suit, nothing fancy, just something to get Roxie off her case. This would probably be the only time she's ever going to wear it, unless they go swimming again in the future.

It looks like none of her coworkers were big beach-goers either, a mismatch of colorful swimsuits and regular clothes. And was that, was Robert wearing a full divers suit? Where the heck did he get that, and why? At least they were prepared, there was even a cooler full of drinks, and one of those big umbrellas to stick in the sand.

"Uh-" Neil's voice squeaks from behind her. Eva turns, looking up at her partner in confusion. He was blushing furiously, staring at her slack jawed. What was the matter with him? And- Eva does a double take, what kind of outfit was that?!

"Neil, what on earth are you wearing? And are you even wearing sunblock, you're going to burn..." Eva looks him over in horror, he was wearing bright yellow pikachu swim shorts and a NASA shirt, even going so far as to wear socks and sandals. He stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the others, especially since his glasses were reflecting the sunlight like mirrors. Without warning, Neil pulls off his shirt and throws it at her. Startled, Eva catches it. "What is this for?"

Neil mumbles something unintelligible, wringing his hands nervously. "Pardon?" Eva leans forward, trying to understand why he would give her his shirt, of all things.

"I said- I said yOU LOOK AWFUL, COVER UP!" Neil squeaks angrily. She gasps in offense, but before she has a chance to yell at him, Neil turns and runs away. Well then, what nerve! Eva has half a mind to throw the shirt down and ignore it, but then again, if he was really so intent on being making her cover up...

Eva pulls the NASA shirt on begrudgingly, she didn't like how exposed she'd felt anyways. Standing up, Eva pads over into the chilly water, waiting for a bit to get used to the temperature before going out further. She stops when the water reaches her chest, content just floating around for now. It was a beautiful day, barely a cloud in the sky. And the water was nice and clear, not amazingly so, but Eva could see the bottom pretty far away from the shore.

"Evaaaa~!" Roxie calls out, bobbing happily atop her decorative donut floatie. She paddles over, grinning giddily. "Isn't this great? We should come to the beach more often!" Eva nods with a smile, at least getting to see everyone so happy was a plus. Though, Eva could have done without seeing Willis in a swimsuit.

From farther down the beach, Eddie yells their names. They look over at him, he's jumping up and down, waving his arms and grinning. "Oh, I wonder what the fuss is?" Roxie tilts her head, trying to get a better look.

"You go check it out, I think I'll get some swimming in." Eva says with a wave, watching Roxie swim away with an affirmative nod. She was used to the temperature of the water by now, no use getting out and having to go through the whole process again. Taking in a deep breath, Eva dives below the surface.

She swims around for a while, not really paying much attention to where she was going, simply enjoying the experience. The water is mostly clear, though she can see some murky areas farther off. Multiple smaller fish swim around her, light reflecting off their scales enticingly. Surfacing for air, Eva floats on her back and watches the sky calmly, kicking her feet slowly.

Roxie was right, this was nice. It certainly beats sitting in an office all day and doing paperwork, and no patients to worry about either. Eva loved her job, but sometimes it did get a little tiring. Occasional breaks were needed to avoid burnout, after all. But enough thinking about work, she was trying to enjoy herself. Floating in the water was refreshing, kind of like she was flying, light and airy. The sound of gulls crying and waves crashing was calming, the people playing and laughing in the distance was hardly a worry.

Without warning, Eva suddenly finds herself underwater. She panics, desperately trying to resurface as the rip current drags her farther out. But the surface stays stubbornly out of reach, her fight for air only exhausting Eva even further. Eva couldn't tell which way was up anymore, the water surrounding her was murky and confusing. Her lungs burn, vision going spotty as she continues to fight, bubbles escaping and floating away before her eyes. She accidentally gasps, the water stinging her throat and lungs, killing any further energy she had left in her.

Soon, the current has carried her far away from the shore, depositing her limp form just beyond the surf zone. Finally, Eva just barely manages to swim up, coughing and sputtering weakly. She can see the shore from here, so far away she can barely hear the crowd anymore. But even if the shore was just a few feet away, Eva's not sure she could make it. She tries very hard to swim forward, head tilted back as she gasps for air, hands clawing at the water weakly. The water keeps washing over her face, though, interrupting her attempts at breathing. She's not making any headway, stuck bobbing in place. She tries to call for help, wave her arms, to do something. But she can't, any words or sounds caught in her throat as she wheezes. She can't get her arms high enough to wave, either. Eva's eyes droop, blinking away water and tears from her blurry vision. But she's so tired, so so tired...

Her arms float up limply, not enough energy to keep moving. And Eva finds she doesn't really care anymore, either. A blanket of calm falling over her, she just... wants to sleep.

Sleeping wouldn't be so bad, right? It's okay if she just... closes her eyes for a little bit. Her lungs throb dully to the beat of her heart. But that's alright, everything is alright. It's like she's flying, rocked to sleep gently by the waves, she can almost hear someone calling her name.

Eva just... she just, wants... she wants to...

s

l

e

e

p

...

Neil Watts was an IDIOT. Why did he have to say that, Eva was probably pissed at him now. AND now he doesn't even have his shirt, uuuugh he felt so exposed right now. Where was his lab coat when he needed it? He's covered in sand and the sun burns his skin and this SUCKS.

Why did they have to come to a beach, where's the fun in that, it's just a big empty space with water. If he wanted water he could fill a bathtub with the stuff, not like it's hard to come by. And the sand, good God the sand. It was EVERYWHERE; in his hair, in his clothes, even in his socks. He was gonna be brushing the stuff off himself for the next MONTH at this rate! Not to mention how crowded the place was, people running around all over, screaming and laughing and just being generally annoying. Neil really hated the beach.

At least in the simulation the beach was tolerable, since the sand couldn't stick to them. And he got to wear his normal clothes instead of... whatever this was. Honestly he'd just grabbed a bunch of random stuff he had in his closet and rolled with it.

Out of nowhere, Roxie appears, wrapping an arm around Neil's shoulders and making him jump in surprise. "Nice going, Neil, that's sure one way to compliment your crush~!" She chides, a cat-like grin on her smug face. Neil pushes her away, crossing his arms defensively.

"I don't have a crush!" He hisses, looking back and forth to make sure none of the others were nearby. Roxie just nods annoyingly.

"Sure ya don't, Mr. Cover Up-" Roxie coos, and Neil punches her arm lightly. Yet another reason to hate the beach, Roxie's teasing.

"Hey guys, we're getting the drinks out now!" Logan calls from under the beach umbrella, plopping down on his towel next to the cooler. Everyone gathers round, grabbing their drinks and getting ready to relax before it was time for fun again. "Hm, that's weird, where's Eva?" Logan tilts his head curiously, looking around the group. While everyone else had come at Logan's call, Eva was nowhere to be found.

"She said she was gonna swim a while ago..." Roxie says, sipping her lemonade quietly. In unison, they all look out onto the water, trying to spot Eva amongst the waves and crowd. Neil wasn't too concerned, she'd probably gotten distracted by a fish or something. Maybe even a jellyfish, wait, were there even jellyfish here? He can't see anyone that looks like her though, oh- there she was. The bright red and white of the NASA shirt he threw at her catching his attention against the blue water. Neil squints, holding a hand up against the sun. Eva was just kind of floating upright, totally still, she was pretty far away from the shore too. Maybe she simply hadn't heard Logan's call?

"S%*t-" Robert hisses, dropping his drink and taking off towards the water. Neil feels a twinge of worry sprout in his chest, whatever was happening had Robert of all people in a panic. The rest of the group run forward, standing at the edge of the water and trying to get a better look. From here, Neil could just barely see a look of pure fear on Eva's face, right before she disappeared below the waves.

"Eva!" Neil's heart pounds in his ears as he wades out into the waves, he wasn't a very strong swimmer but dangit Eva was in trouble and he wasn't just gonna uselessly sit here. But Robert is much faster, swimming out and reaching Eva in just a few minutes. He manages to keep her head above the water, but struggles swimming them both back to shore.

Neil doubles his efforts, swimming as fast as he can and reaching the struggling pair in another minute. He slings Eva's other arm around his neck, helping Robert swim her to shore. The older doctor is breathing heavily as he struggles to keep both himself and Eva above the waves, his age catching up to him. The second they reach land, the other doctors surround the waterlogged trio, frantically yelling. Eva's not moving, her skin tinged blue as Neil and Robert gently place her on the sand beneath their umbrella. Neil can feel himself shaking, both from the cold water and from fear. Eva doesn't even look like she's breathing-

Suddenly, Eva convulses violently, sputtering and coughing out way too much water than would be considered healthy. Her eyes are shut tightly in pain, and she curls into a ball, gasping weakly against the wet sand. Neil feels himself inhale hastily, suddenly realizing he'd been holding his breath this entire time. He can vaguely hear Logan and Willis shooing away curious beach-goers, trying to get a peek at the scene.

"Oh my, are you alright, dear?" Taima worries, holding her hands up over her mouth in shock. Robert is coughing almost as hard as Eva is, doubled over as Roxie pats his back. Lisa quickly grabs some clean towels, draping them over the three soaking wet doctors. Neil collapses next to his partner, with no power to ease her suffering. Eventually, she calms down, wheezing softly as she shakes. As soon as Robert catches his breath, he straightens back up.

"As a precaution, I'm afraid we will have to take you to the hospital, Eva..." He sighs, rubbing his temples and moving to start packing up. Some of the others whine, but began helping, Eva just nods mutely. "Neil, would you mind bringing her to the car?" Robert asks, glancing at Neil. He doesn't have enough energy to argue, besides, he had been planning on doing just that anyways.

Carefully, Neil picks Eva up off the sand bridal style, towel and all. He wobbles a bit at first, still tired from the sudden swim, but she doesn't weigh much more than the machine. She doesn't say anything as they make their way to the car.

When they arrive, Neil puts her down on the ground, and reaches for his car key- Oh, right. He doesn't have the keys on him... He face palms, half tempted to slam his head on the car repeatedly. Guess they're stuck here until the others get back. Neil leans against the back of the car, glancing back and forth between the beach and Eva. She's looking away from him, towards the beach with a frown. Should he, should he say something? This was kind of an uncomfortable situation... Ugh, Eva would probably know what to say if the roles were reversed... Neil shifts his weight from one foot to the other, uncertain.

"If you have something to say, just say it already. Stop lurking off to the side, you moron..." Eva says in a low tone, her voice rasping and gravelly. She turns slightly to look at him, and Neil jumps in surprise, rubbing his arm awkwardly and looking away.

"Oh! Just, uh, making sure you don't... er, drown, again..." Neil mumbles, trailing off with a frown. Ugh, he sounded like such a tool right now.

"I doubt I can drown on dry land, but thanks." Eva looks away again with a wet cough, towards the water. Taking this as permission, Neil walks up to her slowly, sitting down on the ground beside her. She has a far away look in her eyes, like she's thinking very hard. With the fading sunlight, the deep brown of her eyes he's come to know so well almost appears golden. Like sunken treasure, hidden away behind the unforgiving waves. Lost forever to the depths of the sea, like how he almost lost her today. "Guess I really worried you guys, huh?" She's frowning, as though almost drowning was her fault, like she could have controlled it. Survivor's guilt.

"Yeah, at least let me know before you go trying to die next time, got it?" Neil tries to hide his fear behind a joke, just hoping that there won't be a next time. He's not sure his heart can take it. He just wishes he could have done more, been there for her, kept her away from that death trap of a rip current.

"Alright, I'll make sure to send you a professional email the next time I almost die." Eva says with a weak laugh, shaking her head slightly and pulling the towel tighter around her shaking form. She's still wearing his NASA shirt, too, guess his impulsive decision was a good idea after all.

"I'll hold you to it!" Neil gives a fake smile, gently punching Eva's shoulder. She shakily smiles back, finally looking away from the churning waves.

"I'm sure you will." She sighs, weakly punching him back. He hisses in pain, God that really stung... Shrugging his towel off, Neil looks at his shoulders and arms, only to see the skin is bright red. Whoops-

"I told you to wear sunblock, you nerd!" Eva scolds, looking over him in concern. Neil groans, hanging his head in defeat. He really really hated the beach.


	5. Traverse

There were a lot of things that Neil could tolerate, and he usually liked to think of himself as a pretty chill guy. But right now he was feeling *very* confused. Not only was his partner Eva no where to be found, but Robert freaking Lin was wearing her signature gold-trim lab coat. Her outfit barely even fit Robert, the front buttons were undone to allow it to fit. How had he even gotten the dang thing, Eva was rather attached to it. Not only that, but Robert's hair wasn't braided as it usually was. It was loose, and downright curly.

"Robert, what the f^$& are you doing?" Neil asks with a grimace, he really didn't want to deal with this right now. Why couldn't it have been anyone else... alright maybe not anyone else, if it was Alistair in Eva's lab coat that would have been much worse. Eva would probably never get that awful Alistair smell out.

"Why, good morning to you too, Neil." The older traversal quips, staring down at Neil with the faintest look of amusement. Jerk.

"Okay listen, this is ridiculous, where is Eva?" Neil looks up and down the hall, maybe Eva was hiding just off to the side and watching. Honestly after all the pranks he'd pulled, he wouldn't be surprised if she got back at him like this.

"I'm Eva, can't you tell?" Robert responds, so matter-of-factly that Neil pauses in his search to look at him with a blank expression.

"I don't have time for this, just tell me where Eva is, and maybe I'll work quietly without bothering you for the rest of the day." Hopefully bargaining would work, anything other than... whatever the hell this was. He would even prefer doing paperwork right about now.

"I already told you, I am Eva, did you hit your head?" At this, Robert walks forward and awkwardly pats Neil's head. Neil reels backwards in shock, accidentally cornering himself against the wall.

"No- you look nothing like her! Stop joking around already!" Neil hisses, eyes wide. This was getting weird, even for him, and it was really starting to exceed his patience.

"If I put on a wig will that be better?" Robert's expression is purposefully neutral, but Neil can see that he's getting a kick out of annoying Neil.

"NO!" Neil yells, pulling his hair in frustration. The sound echos slightly through the hall, and Roxie pokes her head out of her office.

"What's the problemo?" She chirps, looking between the two in confusion. Neil turns on her, pointing accusingly.

"Roxie, take your partner back, I don't want him!" Neil yells dramatically, startling the other technician. She looks over at Robert with a frown.

"What're you taking about, that's clearly Eva." Roxie says, sounding absolutely convinced she was correct. Neil narrows his eyes suspiciously, so she was in on the joke too.

"Clearly." Robert drawls.

"You stay outta this!" Neil points back at Robert, who holds his hands up in defense. By now the squabble had attracted some attention, the other Sigmund doctors gathering at the end of the hall to spectate.

"That's no way to talk to your partner, young man!" Taima tuts disapprovingly, even Lisa is shaking her head at him. What did Neil do to deserve this? I mean sure, last week he taped an air horn to the toilet seat, and the week before that hid mentos in a soda can inside the break room mini-fridge, and the week before that hid a whoopee cushion under Willis's swivel chair... but other than all those pranks he was mostly innocent!

"He's not my- AUUUGH!" Neil screams, throwing his arms up in surrender. "Y'know what, fine! I don't care what you do, just leave me alone and-"

Suddenly, all the doctors jump as a loud RIIIIIING sounds through the hall, they turn in unison to stare at the ringing phone. Slowly, since Logan is the closest to the phone, he picks it up.

"Hello, this is Dr. Logan Boswell." He answers calmly, glancing over at the others occasionally while listening to the other end. "...You got it, Boss" And with that, Logan puts the phone back down and turns to face the curious group.

"Well? Who's the lucky duo this time?" Lisa asks, watching Logan intently and tilting her head to the side. The others all lean forward, awaiting the news with bated breath.

"Today's lucky doctors aaaaare, drum roll please-" Logan grins, prompting Eddie to sound out a suspenseful drum roll. "...Neil and Eva, congrats you two!" He announces with a flair, and the rest of the doctors clap lightly before beginning to walk away back to their offices.

"Wait- hold on a second! I can't go without Eva!" Neil panics, there was no way in hell he was going on a mission with ROBERT. That wouldn't be any fun, how was he supposed to joke about the patients behind their back with workaholic Robert breathing down his neck the entire time?

"Well that's not very nice, Neil. Eva's standing right there, you really shouldn't talk over her like that." Lisa gestures at Robert, as though it's the most obvious thing in the word and Neil was just being an idiot. But even Robert looked uncertain, now that he was about to get stuck with Neil on a mission for who knows how long.

"Perhaphs someone else could take this one-" Robert asks hopefully, this is one thing Neil can agree with the older man on.

"What's the matter, Ms. Rosalene, you're not usually one to turn down a mission." Willis fakes a look of confusion, but Neil can tell he's fighting not to laugh. He really hated all his coworkers right now. No one else was willing to call the bluff, and so Neil and Robert were now temporarily partners.

"Good luck out there, you two~!" Roxie cheers, patting Robert on the back and spinning away back into her office. Neil just hangs his head in defeat, and goes to retrieve the machine.

...

Today's patient was Joyce Emmerson, a 74 year old woman who simply wished to relive her life without illness. It was an easy enough mission, hopefully it wouldn't be an over-nighter. But knowing Neil's luck as of late, he wasn't about to count his mementos before they came into existence.

They were still in the old age stage, but already Neil was feeling restless. If he didn't make a joke right this second he was going to go crazy. In silence, the unlikely duo watch the patient's memory play out. Looks like she wasn't a very nice person in this stage, lashing out in anger at her family and friends. Screw it, Neil's got the perfect joke for this situation and Robert's just gonna have to deal with it.

"Heh, I bet she was a real joy to work with." Neil grins, watching the other's face closely for any sign of emotion.

"...That is highly inappropriate, Neil." Robert says with a frown, as expected.

"Why can't you just appreciate my quality jokes?" Neil throws his arms up dramatically, walking a little ways off as they continue through the memory.

"Maybe you should, as they say, get good." At Robert's words, Neil stops dead in his tracks. Did... did Robert just make a joke? Or, at the very least, attempt to make a joke? What, no. This was wrong on so many levels, time to default to rudeness.

"Maybe you should get that stick outta your arse-" Neil grumbles under his breath. Robert looks scandalized, whoops, guess he heard that.

"I sincerely hope you do not speak to Eva- I mean, me, in that manner." What a sour expression, maybe Robert should stop sucking on lemons too. Neil can only imagine how boring missions must be for everyone else, how did they survive without his amazing jokes?

"Wouldn't you like to know." Hm, what would be the best thing to do right now, aw yeah, how about an eyebrow waggle. Yep, that certainly ruffled his feathers. Robert's squinting at him angrily, Neil just smirks. New objective; annoy Robert as much as possible for the entire mission.

Robert allows Neil to prepare the first memento. He keeps it by the books at first, then takes a deep breath. "HAAAAAAAAAAADOUKEN!" He shouts, sending the two into the next memory with a bang. The second they rematerialize, Robert gives Neil a look of utmost disapproval.

"Alright, from now on I'm preparing the mementos..." He sighs ruefully. Jokes on him, that just means less work for Neil to do.

"Sorry my sick references don't appeal to your sense of humor, old timer. Oh wait, you don't have one!" Neil grins, crossing his arms defiantly and laughing.

"I only enjoy good jokes, maybe if you actually told one I would laugh." Robert says with a bored expression, ouch. How rude, maybe he should change his name to Rudebert. Neil raises a hand to his chest in offense, gasping dramatically.

"Is that a challenge, Bobert?" Neil grins manically up at the older traversal.

"No-" Robert tries to back away, hands raised slightly in defense.

"It's too late to back out now, I accept the challenge!" Neil declares loudly, the patient as his witness despite the fact she couldn't hear or see them. Robert face palms, walking away without a word in defeat. Neil follows after him, laughing loudly as he plots.

...

Neil had seen a lot in his time at Sigmund, a lot of really awful people who didn't deserve the time of day, much less a literal miracle. Joyce wasn't the worst he'd had to work with, but he could see she was kind of a jerk. They were into the late adult stage, and he had barely seen her smile, a constant grimace on her weathered face.

During one of her more spectacular hissy fits, Neil catches Robert's attention and points towards the patient with a neutral expression. "Look, it's you." Robert looks less than pleased.

Neil turns to move on, but notices Robert trying to catch *his* attention. Now curious, Neil watches as the older man shuffles over to the side, pointing at a blurry garbage can in the corner. "Look, it's you." Robert says, smirking faintly.

"Oh, you are so getting pranked later..." Neil mumbles, already thinking of all the ways he could get back at the insufferable traversal. Maybe some saran-wrap carefully taped to his office door frame, or a computer virus that just plays 'All Star' at full blast from his computer speakers...

"I'd like to see you try." Robert narrows his eyes, standing steadfast in front of the next memento.

"I'd like to see you try to see me try!" Neil grins, walking right up to Robert and staring him in the eyes, unwavering.

"We are not doing this." Robert says with a dismissive head shake, but it was too late. He'd opened this can of worms, and now he was gonna have to lie in it.

"Not doing what? You getting your butt kicked in this awesome joke-off?" Neil lets his voice rise, and he quickly punches his own hand to look more dramatic.

"You're not making any sense, Neil-" Robert rubs his temples in frustration.

"Your FACE doesn't make any sense!" Neil yells, startling the other slightly. Robert doesn't say anything more, just staring down at Neil with an unreadable expression. "What? Why are you staring at me like that, do I have something on my face?" Neil frowns, tilting his head slightly.

Robert shakes his head dismissively. "...You are Roxie are so similar sometimes, it's not even funny." He mumbles, so softly that Neil has to lean forward to hear him. And even then he's not sure he heard correctly; him and Roxie, similar? No way, not in a million years, he was nothing like the other technician!

"Huh? What did you just say?" Neil blinks, watching Robert shake his head again.

"Nothing, let's move on." Robert says as he activated the memento, sending the two into the next memory.

...

They were making surprisingly good time, managing to reach the teen years only several hours after they first began work. The patient's attitude had improved somewhat, but she was still a Salty Sandra most of the time. Right now though, she seemed happy, shopping for clothes in the women's section of some store with all her half remembered high school friends.

Neil glances over at Robert for what feels like the millionth time today, he was still pretending to be Eva. An idea comes to Neil, and he grins mischievously. "So, you having fun wearing ladies clothes?" Neil laughs, and then laughs even harder as Robert begins blushing furiously.

"N-not as much as I'm sure you would." He was trying to hide his embarrassment, and Neil finds himself taken aback. Firstly at the fact he'd never seen Robert blush so hard before, and secondly as the fact he was bringing up that at a time like this.

"You can't prove anything-" Neil fakes a smirk, crossing his arms defiantly.

"I have pictures of the last time you got drunk." Robert points out, dangit.

"...Okay, so maybe you can prove that..." Neil grumbles, looking away in defeat and trying desperately to think of something blackmail-worthy to drop on Robert. Come on, think Neil think... AHA! "But *I* can prove the time you tried to fight a table!"

"That was Roxie-" Now it was Robert's turn to look away, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Roxie challenged the table to a fight, but YOU threw your body at it and broken the damn thing in half!" Neil laughs loudly, remembering how a very drunk Robert had nearly gotten them all kicked out of the bar. Luckily the bartender had been kind enough not to call the cops, considering they were all very intoxicated. Neil would rather not spend a night in a jail cell, thank you very much.

Robert blushes even harder, obviously flustered. "What was I supposed to do, the table insulted my partner!"

"So you thought giving yourself a concussion was a good idea?" Neil raises an eyebrow, watching him closely.

"I don't start fights but I can finish them, that's more than I can say for you." Ouch, touché. Neil tries to think of a way to come back from this burn, but before he has a chance Robert turns away. "Now can we please finish this mission already, I would really like to change into something more appropriate."

"Sure thing, dumpling." Neil says on instinct, and immediately covers his mouth with his hands. Robert pauses, staring at him oddly as Neil tries to hide his blushing face. There was no coming back from this, he was doomed to die of embarrassment. Luckily, Robert says nothing, simply sending them into the next memory in silence.

...

Ah, childhood. All of their patients had one, and sometimes they weren't very happy. Joyce's childhood memories pick right up in a hospital room, looks like whatever illness she has spans all the way back to her very first memories. Hospitals were never a fun place to be in, and an even worse place to grow up in. Ugh, this place was stifling, and was in dire need of a joke to lighten the mood.

"Hey, wanna hear a joke?" Neil smiles as innocently as he can up at the older traversal.

"Not particularly." Robert mumbles with a frown as he attempts to shuffle farther away.

"Sure 'ya do, here goes-" Neil grins, elbowing Robert lightly. "If you live in a hospital, would it be called a houspital?"

To his surprise, Robert actually chuckles. It's a strange sound, deep and genuine. "That was a good one, well done, Neil." Robert says with a smile, a *real* smile, not one of those strained fake smiles he usually does. Neil has to look away to hide how much he's blushing, curse Rob and his genuine happiness! He was acting way too much like Eva right now, and now that Neil thought about it, the two traversals were scarily similar.

They were so close to completing this mission, he needed to focus before he gave Robert anymore blackmail material.

"Is there something wrong?" Robert asks, staring down at Neil with an curious expression.

"Nope! Nothings wrong Ev-ROB!" Neil squeaks, hopping away and trying to search for memory links to hide his embarrassment.

"I'm right here, you don't have to shout." Robert tilts his head slightly as he follows after Neil, looking concerned. Finally, they find the last memory link, and stand before the memento, which turned out to be a plush toy owl. "Come on, let's finish up this mission and go home."

Neil stands in silence, trying not to fidget. But Robert's not preparing the memento, he's just staring at him, almost like he's expecting something. "...What? Aren't you gonna prepare the memento?" Neil asks, trying to figure out what might be causing the older traversal to hesitate.

"I thought I'd let you have this one. Go ahead, yell whatever weird reference you want." Robert gestures to the plush owl, before taking a step back to give Neil some room.

Neil blinks, staring up at Robert in shock. He was... actually letting Neil yell something stupid? That was a surprise. He shoots the memory links quietly, keeping an eye on Robert just in case he changed his mind. Finally, Neil inhales deeply, aaaaand- "OMAE WA MOU SHINDEIRU!" He shouts, breaking the final memento in style.

"Let's finish this!" Neil grins, sending them both into the patients over-world.

Neil was used to being ahead, he was also used to being a head sprite. He wasn't sure what algorithm the machine used to determine what color their head sprites tail was, just that Eva's was dark purple, and his was a cool teal. He'd often wondered if that was the color of their souls, and when he thought of Eva he often associated her with the color purple.

Neil glances over at Robert, curious what color the machine thought his 'soul' was. Apparently, it was dark blue, mixed with the slightest hint of plum.

Robert catches him staring, and he quirks an eyebrow up. "Eyes forward, Neil, the end is in sight." And with that, he's off, dark blue ghosting behind as he lines up the memories. Neil trails after him, helping place the memories properly. Today wasn't as horrible as he'd first thought it would be, in fact, Neil found he'd actually had fun. As hard to believe as that was, at some point during the mission Neil had actually started to enjoy himself.

"We made good time, I'm impressed." Robert remarks as they send the wish signal. It was a pretty easy wish, and they stood back and watched the machine do it's work. Erasing every last trace of illness from Joyce, and allowing her to relive her life without burden.

"Ah, and here comes the sapfest." Neil mumbles, watching the rerun play out.

"It's time to leave, then. The paperwork isn't going to fill itself." Robert shrugs

"Ugh, don't remind me..." Neil groans, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"It really is the most boring part of the job, is it not?" Huh, guess even workaholic Robert hated paperwork. He was just full of surprises today.

With one last glance at the simulation, Neil and Robert back out.

...

"Geez Neil, I miss one day of work and you act like it's the end of the world." Eva teases, giving Neil a tired smile.

"Hey, for your information, I survived just fine!" Neil puffs out his chest, earning a slight chuckle from his partner. He was happy to have Eva back, work wasn't the same without her.

"Sure you did, I bet you just played games all day long, you dork." She laughs, punching his arm lightly. He crosses his arms with a huff, feigning offense.

"Hey! I'll have you know I got a TON of work done while you were away!" Neil gloats, but Eva doesn't look like she believes him. Oh well, her loss.

Just then, the elevator dings, and out steps Robert. He's back in his normal lab coat, hair braided neatly behind him and no indication of yesterdays little adventure.

"Good morning, Neil, Eva. Glad to see you're back with us." Robert says in greeting, sipping a cup of coffee as he walks to his office.

"Mornin' Rob." Neil gives a lazy wave, watching as Robert returns the gesture and promptly disappears into his office. Eva is giving him a strange look, glancing back and forth between him and Robert's office door.

"...Well, that was remarkably civil, what on Earth happened while I was gone?" She asks, looking extremely confused.

"Yeesh, buy a guy dinner before 'ya go asking about his day, why don'tcha?" Neil chuckles, putting his hands behind his head as he follows Eva down the hall. She stops just outside her office, and turns to face him.

"Alright then, does this Friday work for you?" She asks, pulling out her phone and checking her schedule.

"What." Neil blanks, staring at Eva in confusion.

"You just asked me on a date, did you not?" She asks, tilting her head and watching him curiously. Neil stares back at her slack jawed, well and truly flabbergasted. Did, did he just... wait, what?!

"Date?!" Neil squeaks, feeling his face flush red hot.

"Is that not what you meant?" She sounds almost disappointed, and Neil has to quickly backtrack.

"No! I mean- yes? I mean... yeah, Friday works for me!" Neil grins nervously, words tumbling out of his mouth too fast to really process.

"Alright then, it's a date. I'll pick you up around 6pm." Eva smiles softly, before disappearing into her office. With a resounding click, the door closes, leaving Neil to stand in the hallway alone. He turns slowly, about to walk into his own office when he sees movement out of the corner of his vision. It's Robert, peeking out of his slightly ajar office door. Wordlessly, Robert gives a thumbs up, and closes the door.

Well, guess Neil had a date and a new... friend? Okay maybe not friend, acquaintance perhaps. What was even happening anymore, he was so confused.


	6. Fish in the Sea

Eva Rosalene had a date, with none other than Neil Watts, her dorky partner. They weren't in a relationship, it was just a nice outing between two friends. Friends can go on dates, right? This was definitely not a thing, nope, not at all.

She'd spent the last hour preparing, even attempting to curl her hair. It was kind of a mess, since she wasn't used to dressing up so fancily, but it looked kind of nice. Eva had even decided to wear a nice dress, she'd bought it months ago and never worn it, soft dark blues speckled with cyan stars.

Luckily, she finished getting ready just as Neil pulled up outside. Pulling her coat on, Eva runs out and hops into the car. He starts driving right away, taking off down the street.

"Did I dress up too much for this?" Eva eyes Neil's outfit uncertainly, he was wearing that stupid tuxedo print t-shirt again.

"No, you look amazing!" Neil assures her, trying to keep his eyes on the road.

"Hm, you still haven't told me where we're going, y'know." Eva looks out the window, watching the scenery zoom past.

"Oh yeah, speaking of, you better put this on-" With a skillful dodge of the question, he tosses something over to Eva. She catches it, holding the object out to inspect.

"Is this... a blindfold?" Eva blinks down at the long strip of fabric, apprehension filling her chest.

"Yep." He says casually, clicking his tongue and taking a right turn.

"Should I be concerned?" She allows the blindfold to fall back into her lap, watching Neil with narrowed eyes.

"What, don't you trust me?" Neil says with a lopsided grin, and in this lighting Eva honestly can't tell if he was being sincere or not.

"Every time you say that, it just gives me more of a reason not to..." Eva closes her eyes, thinking of all the times she's heard her prankster partner ask her to trust him. Like the time they got trapped in a haunted house for 3 hours, because Neil got so terrified he clung to her like a frightened baby koala and they got separated from the group. Or the time they went to a Halloween party in matching costumes, but got the address wrong and showed up to a bar by mistake.

"Well, maybe this time I'll surprise you!" He chuckles a bit, glancing away with a shrug.

"Maybe..." Eva mumbles, finally relenting and tying the blindfold behind her head. They don't drive for much longer, which is good since Eva's starting to feel a little motion sick. She listens to him park the car and get out, walking to the other side and opening her door for her. Eva slowly unbuckles her seat belt, hesitating for a minute as she tries to figure out how she'll walk.

"Yooouuu gonna get out, or?" Neil voice sounds beside her, and Eva carefully scoots out of the vehicle with all the grace of a flamingo on Ritalin.

"I can't see, moron." She grumbles, holding her arms out and trying to feel her way around. Car, door, air, even more air, person? Eva pats the person in front of her, accidentally smacking them right in the face with her hand, whoops.

"Ouch- getting a little handsy there, Eva... here, take my hand." Neil quickly wraps an arm around Eva's shoulders, leading her across the concrete. She leans against him heavily, trying not to trip over every little bump and crack, and failing spectacularly. Eva clings to Neil like a lifeline, frowning deeply as she stumbles yet again, just barely avoiding face planting on the ground. "Geez, at least try not to trip-" He grumbles, shifting slightly to keep her upright, and also to open what sounds like a door.

"Still can't see... can I take this thing off yet?" Yep, definitely a door, based on how the ground changed from concrete to actual flooring. She's tempted to try and peek past the blindfold, to at least see what the floor looked like, but resists. Where ever this was, it seemed Neil really wanted to keep it a secret right until the end.

Neil keeps walking them forward, and finally stops and keeps Eva still. "Hold on... aaaaaand, now!" He says with a flourish, allowing Eva to finally reach up and pull the blindfold off.

Immediately, she's taken aback by what she sees. They're in a large open room, all the walls are made of large fish tanks teeming with life. Several tables are scattered around, above which hang large jellyfish lamps. The entire area is bathed in a blue light, the shadows of waves reflecting off the floor mesmerizingly.

"Woah, Neil, this is..." Eva blinks, looking around the room with wide eyes.

"Did I surprise you?" He's watching her with a gentle expression, that familiar lopsided smile gracing his features.

"You did!" She chirps, throwing her arms around a startled Neil and hugging him tightly. She's already spun him around three times before she realizes her mistake, quickly letting him go and blushing furiously. "Let's, um... let's sit down, shall we?" Eva mumbles, glancing over at Neil occasionally.

His mouth is hanging open slightly, hair mussed and glasses askew. "Uh, y-yeah... lets." He squeaks, cheeks brushed red as they carefully sit down at an empty table. Eva takes her jacket off, hanging it on the back of her chair and trying to hide her embarrassment as they order their food.

...

Half an hour later, their food is ordered and served. It had been kind of expensive, so they didn't get much. Just a simple meal and some alcohol, nothing too fancy. Eva took a sip of her drink quietly, watching the fish swim by in awe. The drink was kind of burning her throat, but it was tolerable at the very least.

"I wasn't aware we had such a restaurant." Eva remarks, smiling happily up at the jellyfish lamps. What she wouldn't give for jellyfish themed decor.

"Me neither." Neil talks with a mouthful of food, prompting a slightly disgusted frown from Eva.

"How did you find it?" She looks away from him, inspecting the room and the other guests. It was rather nice, despite the prices, they might have to come here again some time.

"Oh, uh, I have my ways..." Neil mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"How mysterious, Mr. Watts." Eva says with a mock pompous tone, earning a grin from Neil which she gladly returns.

"Why, Ms. Rosalene, don't you know that Dr. Lorenzo Von Matterhorn works in mysterious ways?" Neil crows, resting his elbow on the table, and then his chin on his hand.

"So mysterious that I haven't even heard of them, you mean?" Eva grins, earning a look of offense from Neil as he gasps dramatically, accidentally inhaling a bit of food. A few hurried coughs later, and a couple pats on the back from Eva, Neil takes a sip of his drink and collects the remainder of his dignity.

Eva flashes him a sympathy smile, and they lapse back into silence. Neil adjusts his glasses, the light of the fish tanks glinting off the reflective frames in an anime-fashion. He didn't appear to be looking around the room, in fact, Eva noticed he seemed to be staring at her the entire time since they'd arrived.

Eva stares down at her food for a moment, glancing up across the table. "Are you having a fun time?" She asks hesitantly, watching Neil's face closely for any sign of emotion.

"Huh, why wouldn't I be?" He frowns, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"You haven't been looking around at all..." Eva gestures to the room, still as breath taking now as it was the first time she saw it.

"O-oh... sorry-" Neil mumbles, now purposefully looking around the room, but he kept looking back to watch her. He was blushing slightly, too, though with the lighting it was kind of hard to tell.

"I don't see what could be so interesting that you'd be ignoring all this amazing scenery." Eva tilts her head to the side, trying to figure out why he would be watching her of all things. "Oh, do I have something on my face?" Eva worries, patting her face slightly. Neil just shakes his head.

"No no, you're fine! Guess I was just lost in thought..." He sighs, slumping his shoulders and looking down at the table.

"You and your deep thinking..." Eva tuts, taking another bite of her food. Once she was done, she shook her head at him. "I swear one of these days you're gonna walk off a cliff because of how deeply you think." At this, Neil chuckles softly.

"Oh, that'll be the day." He laughs into his drink, and Eva finds herself laughing too.

...

Eva wasn't aware that the drink had such a high alcohol content, despite the fact it was a regular glass she was already feeling slightly tipsy. Luckily it was just one drink, so she wasn't debilitated quite yet, just light headed.

Also, as it turns out, the restaurant had a gift shop. As they were passing it on the way out, Eva catches sight of a large jellyfish plush in the window. She stops dead in her tracks, swaying slightly and staring at it with longing. It looked so big and cuddly, made of a soft looking fabric. Neil notices her gaze, and stumbles into the gift shop without a word. She blinks in confusion, following him in and watching as he grabs the plush and drops it on the checkout counter.

"You don't have to..." Eva mumbles, shuffling next to Neil as he buys the large plush toy. Neil shakes his head, nearly toppling over in the process.

"Shuddup an' take the jelly-" Neil slurs, handing the plush to Eva and attempting to stumble away. He trips a few feet away, though, and Eva quickly hooks her arm under his to keep him upright.

They manage to reach the car without too much trouble.

"Geez, you're in no shape to drive..." Eva mumbles, eyeing Neil with concern. He just laughs deliriously, hugging her tighter and head lolling against her shoulder. She carefully gets him situated in the passenger seat, and tossing the jellyfish plush into the backseat before finally buckling herself into the driver seat.

She really shouldn't be driving either, God forbid they get pulled over and arrested. She just had to focus, watch the road carefully... okay why was Neil staring at her NOW?

"Hey, Evaaaaaa~" Neil grins giddily, slumped over slightly in his seat. Eva gives an inquisitive 'hm?' as she tries to keep her eyes on the road. "I had a really fun time with you tonight!" He chirps, face flushed bright red.

"Me too, thank you for bringing me." Eva smiles, a warm fluttery feeling in her chest. Neil is still watching her, staring with a kind of nervous determination. "...What?"

"I really really like you, Evaaaaa..." Neil says, leaning towards her slightly

"How much did you have to drink, Neil?" She watches him from the corner of her eye in worry, it really shouldn't be effecting him this much. She knew he was a light weight when it came to alcohol, but this was a bit much... Just then, Neil flumps forward into her, leaning heavily against her shoulder. "Ah- Neil, I'm trying to drive!" Eva yells, but stops when Neil starts crying into her shoulder.

Now extremely concerned, Eva pulls the vehicle over as fast as she can without causing an accident. He's still hugging her arm, crying loudly. "What's wrong, Neil? You're really starting to worry me..." Eva tries rubbing soothing circles on his back, still unsure what exactly was happening.

"You're just so, s-so prettyyyyyy, hic! and I love y-you so muuuuuch-" Neil manages to say between his sobs, hiccuping occasionally.

"O-oh... um, thank you? You're pretty too?" Eva mumbles, tilting her head slightly. It really wasn't like Neil to act like this. What was the saying..? A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts? Or something like that, at least.

"I aaam?" He hiccups, looking up at Eva with watery eyes. His glasses have fallen down slightly, just enough that Eva can see his usually hidden green eyes.

"Yes, you're very pretty, Neil..." Eva stares down at him, mesmerized by the sight. It's not often that she's able to get glimpses past his carefully placed mask, and she wants to appreciate it for as long as possible.

"I loooooove hic! yooouuu, Evaaaaaa..." Neil slurs quietly, eyes fluttering closed as he falls into a drunken sleep.

"...I love you too, you dork..." Eva sighs, smiling gently at her partner. Sometimes he really was a handful, but he was her handful, and that's all that really mattered.

Careful not to wake him, Eva carefully re-situates Neil in his seat. And without another word, Eva begins the long drive home.


	7. Haunted

Haunted houses, something immature kids usually went through for a kick around Halloween. Not something the esteemed doctors of SigCorp would generally frequent.

And yet here they were, standing in line outside some dusty old building full of people in cheap costumes. Eva crosses her arms with a huff, trying to hide her apprehension as they waited in line. It wasn't that she was scared, but being in a big dark building full of strangers in the middle of the night didn't exactly sound like fun. She would much rather be at home, reading a book or sleeping, not getting scared senseless.

"Why are we here again?" Robert asks, looking very out of place in the crowd of teenagers and young adults. It was kind of a funny sight, seeing the older traversal tower over crowd.

"Team building, duh!" Roxie chirps, hopping up and down as she tried to get a better look at the building. It was quite large, with lots of boarded up windows.

"I don't know, this is kind of a waste of time if you ask me..." Neil says with a grumble beside her, shrugging his shoulders as yet another giddy teenager bumped into him.

"Aww, don't be such a Debby Downer~!" Roxie coos, slinging her arm over Neil's shoulders. He shakes her off, and shuffles behind Eva for protection from their bubbly coworker.

They've been standing in line for a good hour now, slowly meandering forward towards the looming building. At some point, Eva could have sworn she saw a dark figure watching them from one of the windows, but they disappeared before she got a good look, and hasn't reappeared since.

Eva shivers in the late October chill, trying to rub some warmth back into her arms. She really should have brought a jacket, just this turtle neck alone wasn't enough.

"Not too late to back out?" Eva whispers to Neil, careful the other two don't hear her.

"And give Robert the satisfaction? No way." He hisses back with a slight shake of his head. Darn, there goes her escape plan.

Finally, they manage to make it to the front of the line. The four shuffle through the creaky doors, into what looks like... a hotel hallway? It was brightly lit, and surprisingly normal.

"Welcome to hotel hell, you can check in, but never check out-!" Neil grins, speaking in a spooky tone as they made their way down the hall.

At the end of the hall, an elevator dings open without any of them having to press any buttons.

"Oh, how typical." Neil sighs, and with nowhere else to go, they all crowd into the small space.

"Scared?" Roxie goads, lightly elbowing Neil in the side.

"No, no one's afraid of an elevator of all things, this is stupid-" He shoots back, squeezing himself into one of the back corners and slumping his shoulders defensively.

"Says the guy afraid of heights." Robert quips, smirking ever so slightly.

Neil opens his mouth angrily, ready and willing to say something likely rather rude, but he's interrupted as the elevator starts shaking violently. The lights flicker, before plunging the four doctors into inky darkness.

Someone grabs Eva in a hug, and she gladly hugs them back as the elevator continues to rattle loudly. Suddenly, it drops a few feet, causing them all to shout and try to maintain their balance.

With an ear-grating scrape, the elevator doors screech open. The ambient light from the next room illuminates the four doctors, and Eva realizes the person she is hugging is Roxie. Roxie seems to realize the same thing, and they both look over at their partners.

Neil and Robert are hugging each other tightly, eyes squeezed shut in fear. Neil's got his ear pressed to Robert's chest, and is practically clinging to the unsuspecting traversal like a frightened baby koala. Robert's chin is tucked on top of Neil's head. Despite her fear, Eva can't help but laugh at the sight.

Slowly, the two men both open their eyes to peek at the dark surroundings, and in unison notice Eva and Roxie watching them. With a shout, they jump backwards away from each other, attempting to hide their embarrassed blushing in the darkness.

"Anyways..." Neil clears his throat, and they all make their way out of the elevator.

It opens into a dark hallway, similar to the previous hotel hallway but dilapidated. Walls covered in holes and grungy, decaying wallpaper. Not to mention, it was so dark Eva couldn't see the end of the hallway from here.

Robert takes the lead, followed closely by Roxie who clings to the back of his sweater. Third comes Neil, with Eva coming in last. As they walk down the hall, Eva keeps looking over her shoulder, the worrying feeling of someone watching them setting her nerves on edge.

Her eyes have started to adjust to the darkness now, but it does nothing to make her feel better. Out of nowhere, a cold rush of air hits the back of her neck, making her hair stand on end.

Eva lets out a strangled scream, whirling around to look behind her... only to see nothing. The second she screams, Neil is at her side in a defensive stance.

"What happened?" Neil asks, looking around the hall before turning to Eva.

"I could of sworn something was just behind me-" She responds, trying to catch her breath. The adrenaline rush shot the feeling of pins and needles through her limbs, so Eva wrung her hands nervously.

Roxie hops over, raising her arms and wiggling her fingers with a spooky noise. "Maybe it was a ghooooooost~" She chimes in with a grin, earning a glare from Eva.

Robert just shakes his head dismissively at his partners antics. "Let's move on."

The hallway leads to a large room. Big hulking shapes covered in white sheets fill the space, arranged to create a semi-maze. Eva can see an open door on the other side, with a light flickering dimly from the doorway.

Careful not to bump into anything, they walk single file through the maze. Halfway through, the sheets suddenly start moving, wavering and ebbing as a bone-chilling fog rolls across the dusty floor boards.

"It's just the wind, special effects and all that." Neil mumbles under his breath to her, but even he sounds slightly anxious.

"Shut up, Neil..." She grumbles back, and he shrugs his shoulders noncommittally.

As they keep walking, Eva squints through the darkness and fog at the figures, some of them really looked like people. Behind them, a coat rack topples to the ground with a loud clatter, startling the four doctors.

They walk a little faster towards the exit, but Robert stops just short and reels backwards into Roxie as one of the ghostly figures blocks his path. Instinctively, Eva grabs the closest thing to her, Neil's arm, and freezes.

"I almost just punched you, man." Robert grinds out, lowering his arms which had been raised in a boxer position. The guy awkwardly shuffles out of the way at this, disappearing from view back into their original hiding spot.

Roxie pats her partner's arm soothingly. "Chillax, Robbie."

"Um, ow?" Neil hisses softly, trying to pry his arm out of Eva's death grip.

"Sorry-" She lessens her grip, but keeps hold of Neil's arm, just in case. But suddenly, the entire room is bathed in a blindingly bright light, and a deafening rumble shakes the entire room. The larger objects sway dangerously, and some of the smaller objects fall around them, adding to the noise. In the light, Eva can now make out many more humanoid figures surrounding them and moving closer in a threatening manner.

The four all scream loudly, Neil instantly latches onto Eva in a bone crushing hug, and Roxie leaps into Robert's arms.

"RUN, GO GO GO!" Roxie manages to yell between her screaming. Taking off towards the exit, Eva watches as the door starts slowly creaking shut. Desperate to not get locked in here with all the ghosts, they run faster.

Luckily, they all manage to get through just before the door slams shut with a rattling bang, sealing them into this next room. Eva places her hands on her knees, breathing heavily and trying to control her racing heart.

"That was certainly exciting-" Eva quips, keeping a purposefully neutral face to hide her fear. This room was a lot smaller than the last, with multiple open doors to chose from.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?!" Neil shouts, pulling his hair nervously.

"WOOOOOO, ADRENALIN, LET'S GO!" Roxie yells giddily, still being carried by Robert, who winces at the sound.

"Roxie, please, not so loud..." He mumbles, carefully placing her back down on the floor. Looking around, Eva tries to peer into the next rooms, but all of them are pitch black. The flickering light above them doing nothing to cut through the darkness.

"Decisions, decisions..." Eva hears Neil mumble behind her.

"Onward!" Roxie chirps, pointing straight ahead and striding through the middle door without hesitation. With a shrug, the rest follow suit, walking into the pitch black room.

The door swings closed behind them with a resounding clang, plunging the four once again into darkness. It's deathly silent, the only sounds being their panicked breathing as they try to navigate the room. The noise starts slowly at first, so quiet Eva's not even sure if it's real, or if she's just imagining it.

Squeaking, high pitched and numerous, and the sounds of little feet scurrying.

"No, no no no-" Robert's voice mumbles frantically a couple feet ahead of her, he sounded... anxious?

As if sensing their fear, multiple candles flicker into existence, the flames reflecting off of hundreds of beady little eyes. Rodents of every size imaginable litter the room, on the floor, covering the walls, there's even some in the ceiling.

The second they're able to see the mousey horror, Robert starts screaming, and jumps several feet in the air. He starts running full speed out of the room, Roxie right on his heels.

Eva tries to keep up with him, but Robert is surprisingly fast for his age, and they quickly get lost in the twisting rooms and hallways. Giving up the chase, Eva leans against a wall panting, Neil catching up to her after a moment.

"What the hell?!" He yells, throwing his arms up dramatically and just barely missing hitting a large cobweb before beginning to pace.

"I didn't know Robert could scream that high..." Eva watches her partner pace, they'd ended up in an empty hallway while chasing Robert, and even Roxie was nowhere to be seen.

Neil stops in his pacing suddenly. "And I didn't even get it on camera!"

"Really, that's what you're getting out of this?!" Eva raises her voice slightly, standing up fully to face her partner. "In case you didn't notice, we got left behind!" She gestures to their dark and eerie surroundings.

"Yeah, I noticed." He grumbles back, walking over to lean against the wall next to her.

"So do we just... keep going, or?" Eva tilts her head slightly, glancing down the hallway. They had some light where they were standing, but it looks like that would soon run out, she wasn't sure how long this hall went on.

"Nah, let's just stand here forever, in the dark, all alone." Neil says in that awful voice he uses specifically to mess with her, ugh.

"You're insufferable..." Eva says while pushing Neil gently, briskly striding down the hall.

"Wait-" Neil suddenly says, a hint of fear in his voice. Eva stops and turns to look at him, raising an eyebrow at his tone. "I mean- uh... we should stick together, right?" Neil laughs nervously, jogging to catch back up to Eva and taking her hand in his.

"Just for the record, I'm not holding your hand because I'm scared, I'm holding your hand because you're scared-" He grins at her, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Eva blinks slowly, sure, she was scared right now. But there was no way in hell she was about to let Neil know. "I'm not scared."

"...Way to ruin my plans, you jerk." Neil pouts, and they continue walking down the hall in silence.

But, after about a minute of walking, Neil suddenly tenses. "...Eva, please tell me that's your hand." His voice sounds hesitant, like he doesn't really know if he wants the answer. Eva blinks at him through the darkness, she can just barely make out the reflection of his glasses in the dark.

"No? I'm over here." Eva says slowly, eyeing the faint outline of a hand on Neil's other shoulder.

Neil jumps forward with a panicked shout, trying to get away from whoever was touching his shoulder, but trips and falls with a loud THWUMP. Eva stands still so she doesn't trip over him, or whatever he just tripped over. She holds her arms out, though, feeling around for where he was. A low laugh sounds from the dark, and Eva watches as someone dressed as Dracula backs away into the darkness, disappearing from view.

"S%*t-" Neil curses, and Eva can hear something small and metallic clatter to the floor just ahead.

"What?" Ah, here he was. Eva pats his back softly, confirming that this person was indeed her dorky partner. He was kneeling on the dusty floor, and cradling something in his hands.

"I broke my glasses..." Neil grumbles, holding up his shattered glasses sadly. Eva helps him up, slinging an arm under his armpit to keep him upright.

"Geez Neil, could you be any more clumsy?" She tuts, watching Neil tuck the broken glasses into his pocket.

"Shut it." He huffs, stumbling over his own feet as they pause at the door at the end of the hall. It was closed, but Eva could see light through the cracks. With her free hand, Eva opens the door.

The next room was surprisingly well lit, but that didn't make it look any better. In fact, the harsh shadows being cast by the yellow florescent lights simply made everything that much more creepy. Sickening neon colors were everywhere, crappy plastic walls comprising what looks like an old circus tent. Multiple person-sized clown puppets sat everywhere, leading into a mirror maze.

The whole place smelled like sickly sweet plastic, the kind of thing one usually smells when walking into a Halloween costume store. Eva wrinkles her nose and tries to hold her breath.

"Clowns?" Neil asks with a grimace, squinting around at the room as they tried to adjust to the lights.

"Clowns." Eva replies, not yet willing to walk any farther into the area. It felt like the clowns were watching them, their horrid plastic eyes painted extremely life-like.

"What is it with clowns and being creepy..." Neil says under his breath, already starting to walk forward and dragging Eva behind him.

"You would have to ask the clowns that-" Eva edges forward slightly, trying to avoid getting to close to any of the clowns. Neil let's go of her arm, stumbling right up to one of the larger clowns in an apparent burst of bravery.

"...Why are you so creepy?" Neil asks quietly, and Eva comes up to stand behind him, staring over his shoulder at the clowns with wide eyes.

The clown jolts forward with a maniacal laugh, causing Neil to leap backwards straight into Eva, and sending them both down to the ground screaming. "CREEPY? EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" It shrieks, holding up a large axe, bright red blood reflecting the lights mesmerizingly.

Eva and Neil keep screaming, scrambling across the dirty floor and running right into the mirror maze. The sound of the clown's high pitched laughs chasing them in.

"YOU KNOW WHAT, F&%# CLOWNS!" Neil screams, clinging to Eva in barely contained terror.

"AGREED!" She yells back, heart pounding frantically in her ears. At some point, Eva grabs Neil's arm again, practically dragging him through the maze.

It works out well for a while, until they both run full speed into a mirror.

"Careful!" Eva backs up, watching the mirror rattle and warp worryingly before stabilizing.

"When have you ever known me to be careful?" Neil rubs his forehead, a slight bump forming where he had hit it on the glass.

Eva can feel her patience wearing thin; and while normally she prided herself on being calm and collected in all situations, right now she was feeling very NOT calm. "...Ugh, this is all your fault!" Eva grinds out, trying to brush all the dust and dirt off her clothes.

"What?! How is this my fault?" Neil shoots back, eyes wide in fear and anger.

"You're the one who went and broke your glasses, moron." Eva raises her arms in dramatic fashion.

"Okay, first of all, the floor broke my glasses, thank you very much-" Neil holds up his index finger angrily, then a second finger. "-and secondly, Roxie's the one who brought us here in the first place!"

"Alright, yeah, this trip is Roxie's fault," Eva sighs, rubbing her temples in frustration. "-but you being practically useless doesn't help any."

"Next time I'll try not to be blind, I guess." Neil says with a wince, pouting a bit as he dusted himself off.

"You do that." Eva responds, already looking for the exit. It was difficult to tell directions with all the mirrors, all she could see was their reflections. "Can we get out out here, now? Having one of each of us is enough."

Neil chuckles, looping his arm with Eva's arm once again. "Yeah, could you imagine the chaos that would happen if there were two Neils?"

"I would rather not." Eva mumbles, managing to find the way forward after a moment. Neil looks like he's about to say something else, but the sound of clown laughter growing closer silences him immediately.

Looking over her shoulder, Eva can already see the reflection of the clown from before drawing near, brandishing the bloody axe high above it's head.

"What's happening, where is it?!" Neil wheezes, eyes wide as he tries to look around, to no avail.

"I don't know!" Eva keeps looking, weaving through the maze and occasionally bumping into the mirrors in her panic.

"FOUND YOOOOUUUU~!" The clown shrieks, it's high pitched voice echoing painfully throughout the maze.

Neil screams, clinging to Eva and pressing his face into her shoulder in pure terror. Eva wraps him up in her shaking arms, search now frantic as the clown stomps closer. Finally, something different catches her attention, a dark area contrasted against the sickeningly bright maze.

"Door!" Eva yells, dragging Neil behind her as fast as she can without tripping away from the killer clown. They dart through the door, and Eva slams it behind her, the sound of high pitched laughs still audible through the dense wood.

Eva presses her back against the door, listening intently as the sound grows distant, before finally fading into eerie silence.

This next room... well, at the very least, it wasn't scary. Before them stood a rickety metal bridge connecting two platforms, and the entire room was a large spinning tube with psychedelic colors.

"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick..." Neil groans, cheek still pressed to Eva's shoulder.

"Don't you dare-" Eva squeezes his arm a little tighter, ready to push him away if he was about to puke. She really did not want to be dealing with this right now.

"This f^%$ing sucks..." He whines, slumping farther down and forcing Eva to try and support more of his weight.

"Close your eyes, moron." Eva grumbles, shifting her stance to better hold onto Neil.

"What about you?" He asks, tearing his gaze away from the rotating room to look blearily up at Eva.

"Someone has to walk us across this bridge..." She responds, glancing over at the bridge in question and tapping it lightly with her foot. It makes a dull tinny sound that echoes off the moving walls, warbling distractedly.

Neil straightens up a bit, looking down at the bridge with narrowed eyes. "Yeah, duh."

"Just close your eyes already." Eva gently bonks Neil on the head, earning another grumble from him, but he closes his eyes without much more arguing.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Eva slowly walks out onto the bridge. It seems sturdy enough, but with every step sends an echoing clang throughout the room, rattling ever so slightly. She tries to keep her eyes focused on the other side, but the spinning of the room is disorienting. She starts to lean sideways as they walk, nearly falling over when Neil stumbles over his own feet.

"Can you walk any straighter?" Neil complains, eyes still closed tightly.

"This would be easier if you would stop stumbling every other step-" Eva blinks rapidly, a wave of vertigo and motion sickness making her stomach churn uneasily.

"I'm only stumbling cause you suck at walking!" Neil shoots back, voice squeaking a bit as he trips yet again.

"At least I don't suck at seeing." Eva responds dryly, looking down at Neil with a slight frown.

"...Ouch." He pouts, and Eva has to say, he looks kind of... cute? Looking away with a blush, it was a very good thing Neil couldn't see right now, or she would never live this down.

After a handful more stumbles, they manage to make it across the bridge without dying. "Okay, we're across, you can open your eyes now." Eva looks back down at her partner, who blinks his eyes open after a few seconds.

"Thank God, I thought we were gonna fall over the edge." He mumbles, looking over his shoulder at the bridge before quickly looking away again. She agreed with him, a headache had started to thrum behind her eyes to the beat of her frantic heart.

"Oh, if only..." Eva sighs under her breath, moving to open the next door and get the hell away from this spinning death room before they both got any more sick.

She almost wished she hadn't since the next room had a strobe light going at full blast. It was a large warehouse room, with multiple people just standing around in the open.

As Neil and Eva make their way through, Eva tries to ignore the people and just focus on the next door. But the people dance around them wildly, the strobe light making their movements seem janky and disjointed.

Eva slows to a stop, breath stilling as she watched the horrific show. The people looked fake, limbs moving like puppets on strings, her depth of field squashed down to the point the room looked more like a flat movie with way too many frames missing.

She couldn't move, couldn't breathe...

"Why'd you stop?" Neil's muffled voice sounds beside her, but even he looks fake. Fake, fake fake...

"Hey, snap out of it-" Neil grips Eva's shoulders firmly, staring deeply into her wide, panicked eyes. "You can do this, Eva."

Blinking slowly, Eva tries to focus on the normally hidden vibrant green of Neil's eyes, but it's difficult with the strobe light plunging them into darkness every other second. The people around them have stopped moving too, simply watching as Eva reorients.

"I'm here, I... I'm here..." Eva wheezes, trying to keep her breathing slow and even. That was a close one.

"Good, thought you'd left me for a second there" Neil smiles gently, wrapping one of his arms around Eva's shoulder. "Come on, let's get the hell out of here already."

Taking care to keep her focus on Neil, the two yet again being walking, this time slower. The people aren't dancing anymore, simply moving out of their way. Opening the door at the back of the room, Eva and Neil walk outside.

Looks like that was the end, Eva thinks, looking up at the clear night sky and taking in a big breath of the chilly air.

"Ah, there you are. We were wondering when you would finally get out" Robert's voice startles the two out of their thoughts.

"Here we are? And where the hell were you?!" Neil shouts, waving one of his arms in the air.

"Standing out here, obviously" Robert shrugs, staring at Neil with a curious expression.

"Oh, what a load of bullsh-" Neil starts, but Eva quickly interrupts him with a well-aimed punch to the arm. He yelps, rubbing his arm painfully and sending her a look of betrayal.

Eva shakes her head, instead turning to face Robert and Roxie. "At least you both made it through safely..."

"Yeah, after I caught up to Rob, it was a piece of cake~!" Roxie chirps, loudly patting Robert's shoulder. The older traversal stumbles a bit at the sudden hit, but quickly catches himself. "He'd ran through half the building by the time he finally slowed down!"

"...I may have panicked a small amount-" Robert grunts, looking away in embarrassment.

"A small amount?" Eva asks, tilting her head slightly as she remembered how loudly Robert had screamed.

"It's not important-" Robert tries, holding his hands up in surrender.

But Neil jumps forward, pointing to himself. "I think it is!" He crows loudly.

"Anyways!" Roxie chimes in before a fight breaks out. "The important thing is that we all had fun, right?"

"Fun? I'm gonna have to replace my glasses thanks to this little trip!" Neil pulls his broken glasses out of his pocket, waving them around for a few moments.

"And how exactly did you break your glasses, dare I ask?" Robert questions, the faintest look of smugness on his face.

Neil pauses for a moment, before posing dramatically with a grin. "Fighting a vampire, of course!"

"That's a really sucky story, Neil..." Eva sighs, rubbing her temples and really wishing she was asleep right now.

"Eva! You're supposed to have my back here!" Neil raises a hand to his chest in mock offense, pouting at Eva sadly.

"Ahahahaha, busted!" Roxie laughs, hopping over to point right at Neil. He leans away, attempting to hide behind Eva yet again.

"No, not busted! Totally and completely unbusted!" He argues, still trying to escape the smaller technician's laughter.

"C'mon, you dorks, let's get outta here~!" Roxie says with a giddy smile, finally leaving Neil alone and striding across the parking lot. "Does anybody remember where we parked?" She shouts over her shoulder, and with an exasperated sigh the rest of the doctors follow her.


End file.
